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TRAVEL ADVISORY; Miami's Parrots Get A Bigger Jungle Island

By ERIC P. NASH

Published: July 27, 2003

Parrot Jungle Island, the new exotic-bird theme park in the middle of Biscayne Bay in Miami, has come a long way since it opened with a handful of colorful birds in South Miami in 1936.

Longtime Florida visitors remember the park for its fanciful trained-bird acts, like cockatoos pedaling miniature bicycles, but the new site, which opened June 28, is built to compete with Orlando-scale theme parks like SeaWorld.

The lushly landscaped 18.6-acre section of Watson Island, midway between Miami and Miami Beach off the MacArthur Causeway ( I-395), features 3,000 individual animals, including crocodiles, orangutans and 1,000 varieties of parrots, from macaws and Amazon grays to cockatoos.

There are even celebrity birds: 60 of the original flamingos that starred in the opening sequence of ''Miami Vice'' wade in the lagoon near an outdoor cafe. (Flamingoes can live to be 50, though they get a little stiff in the joints.)

Horticultural enthusiasts can see more than 500 species of plants and trees, including rare bromeliads, orchids, heliconias and ferns. Attractions include a simulation of the Manu clay cliffs in lowland Peru, where visitors can walk among 200 free-flying parrots and macaws. If you are nostalgic for roller-skating parrots, Parrot Jungle's bird acts continue in the Parrot Bowl, a 1,200-seat covered amphitheater. A smaller Serpentarium, with 500 seats, offers reptile shows and educational programs. And at a bird nursery visitors can buy baby exotic birds and learn about their care. Information and tickets: (305) 400-7000, or visit www.parrotjungle.com. ERIC P. NASH

Photo: Macaws at Parrot Island. (Robert Kippenberger/Parrot Jungle

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